Archive For The “North West Photo Fest” Category
Summer photography in Kitimat and down Douglas Channel.
Images from walking around Kitimat, hikes, and from North West Photo Fest at Minette Bay Lodge and down Douglas Channel.
The most amazing event was when we were off Coste Rocks and witnessed three humpbacks up Amos Channel. One did not dive, but floated on the ocean, asleep. The currents slowly sent the whale toward us while the winds pushed the boat toward the whale.

A sleeping humpback floats in Douglas Channel near Coste Rocks Provincial Park on August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Watch the encounter on Youtube.
A newly fledged American robin hides in the undergrowth in Kitimat, August 4, 2018. It was just beside the sidewalk as I walked by. About 10 minutes later as I walked back to the location it finally flew away. (Robin Rowland)
Another fledgling American robin munches on #berries in the undergrowth of Kitimat, August 4m 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A female surf scoter at Pine Lake, near Terrace, BC, August 6, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A lesser yellow leg flies over seagrass at Minette Bay Kitimat BC during a North West Photo Fest photowalk, August 10, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Two lesser yellow legs perch in the tidal streams of Minette Bay, August 10, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A light in the forest. Light on a tree during a photo walk at Minette Bay Lodge, August 11, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
The largest Coste Rock on August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A flock of juvenile surf scoters fly over Douglas Channel south of Kitimat. (Robin Rowland)
Harbour seals look out from Coste Rocks, August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Two marbled murrelets take off near Coste Rocks in Douglas Channel south of Kitimat, August 13. (Robin Rowland)
A marbled murrelet swims in Douglas Channel south of Kitimat, August 13. (Robin Rowland)
A barn swallow feeds its young under the rafters of the Tookus Inn floating lodge anchored in Clio Bay, south of Kitimat. (Robin Rowland)
A rufous humming bird coming in to flowers at Minette Bay Lodge Kitimat, BC, August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A rufous humming bird coming in to flowers at Minette Bay Lodge Kitimat, BC, August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Unit 63 alpha and bravo vessels, the “Snowflake Responders” exercise in Kitimat harbour on Sunday, August 13, 2017. (Robin Rowland)
On Sunday morning, we held a North West Photo Fest long lens photo workshop/photo walk on the seawall at the Kitamaat Village, mostly shooting birds, when the search and rescue boats came out for a training session.
(Robin Rowland)
(Robin Rowland)
(Robin Rowland)
(Robin Rowland)
Related: Kitimat christens new SAR 63 rescue vessel, Snowflake Responder III October 25, 2014.
Jay Gough of Nikon and the participants in the Kitamaat Village photo walk (Robin Rowland)
And around the same time we caught a rainbow over the harbour, putting the legendary “pot of gold” at its end right in the Rio Tinto aluminum smelter. (Robin Rowland)

The early morning sun shines down on Coste Rocks, a small provincial park in Douglas Channel near Kitimat, August 7, 2016. (Robin Rowland)
On the morning of August 7, North West Photo Fest took out our out-of-town special guests, Andy Clark, Paul Colangelo and Ali Ledgerwood on a tour of upper Douglas Channel, including the Kitimat Arm, Coste Rocks, Jesse Falls and the Kildala Arm, including the Dala and Kildala estuaries.
Our host was Rick Thompson, proprietor of the floating Tookus Inn.

A seal crawls on to one of the smaller Coste Rocks with the mountains and Douglas Channel in the background. (Robin Rowland)

A bald eagle skims over the tangled roots of driftwood in the Kildala River estuary. (Robin Rowland)

Photographer Andy Clark on board Rick Thompson’s Hourston 26 foot sportsfisher, The Only Way, during the North West Photo Fest Douglas Channel tour. (Robin Rowland)

Ali Ledgerwood enjoys the view from The Only Way as we leave Coste Rocks for Jesse Falls. (Robin Rowland)

Terrace. BC, photographer Talon Gillis, describes the challenges of environmental portriature in a small town at the 2016 North West Photo Fest in Kitimat, August 6, 2016. (Robin Rowland)
Kitimat. BC, held the second annual North West Photo Fest on the weekend of August 5 and 6, 2016, a celebration of photography in Northwestern British Columbia.
In 2015, The Kitimat Museum & Archives held a successful exhibit, “Local Lens” that featured the work of photographers in Kitimat. As summer visitors viewed the photos at the museum gallery, Kitimat’s photographers and their friends and supporters began to meet to plan an expanded photo festival that would celebrate all aspects of photography in the northwest, nature, industrial, photo journalism, portraiture, fine art and street photography.
For the 2016 exhibit, invitations were sent across the north west and photographers from Haida Gwaii, to Prince Rupert and Kitimat and on to Telkwa entered images.

The opening of the North West Photo Fest exhibit at the Kitimat Museum & Archives, August 5, 2016. (Robin Rowland)

Visitors line up to see the photo s at the opening of the North West Photo Fest exhibit at the Kitimat Museum & Archives, August 5, 2016. (Robin Rowland)

Guest speakers Paul Colangelo and Andy Clark look at museum exhibits during the opening of the North West Photo Fest exhibit at the Kitimat Museum & Archives, August 5, 2016. (Robin Rowland)
The exhibit runs from August 5 to August 27m 2016.
The seminars and workshops were held at Riverlodge Recreation Centre on Saturday. August 6, 2016.
Download Photofest Program 2016 –

Talon Gillis and Doug Keech discuss the challenges of portraits in a small town at North West Photo Fest. ( Robin Rowland)

Walter Thorne of the Kitimat Valley Naturalists talks about observing and photographing birds at North West Photo Fest. (Robin Rowland)

Darlene Tait won the grand door prize, a large Nanuk outdoor case. (Walter McFarlane)

Journalist Walter McFarlane won a watertight Nanuk case at the North West Photo Fest. (Robin Rowland)

Tawnia Penson won $100 worth of processing from Vancouver’s Photo Expert. while consultant Ali Ledgerwood and co-chair Robin Rowland work in the background. (Walter McFarlane)

Ruth Mills of the Minette Bay Lodge was host for the post workshop barbecue. (Robin Rowland)
Other donations of door prizes came from Beau Photo, Burke Mountain Leather, Canon, News Photographers Association of Canada, Nikon, Love Kitimat and Kitimat Museum & Archives. Thanks for their generous donations!